Swinney says Klubnik had a moment he will never forget

Cade Klubnik put together an impressive showing.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Sunday, November 17 2024

PITTSBURGH - Cade Klubnik had a moment he will never forget.

With just over a minute remaining Saturday at Pitt, the Tigers trailed the Panthers 20-17, and for the first 28 minutes-plus of the second half, had been shut out. As the Panther fans stood to their feet, Klubnik settled under center at the Tiger 25-yard line.

The first play was an 18-yard pass to Antonio Williams – who had a career day with 13 receptions for 149 yards – and the second play covered seven yards to tight end Jake Briningstool. With the ball at midfield, the Tigers were in a good position to move into field goal range.

Klubnik had other ideas – he took the snap and raced downfield for the 50-yard touchdown and score to put the Tigers ahead 24-20. The defense did the rest, and Clemson’s flickering hopes for an ACC title are still alive.

“They play a lot of man coverage. They kind of do what they do,” head coach Dabo Swinney said of Pitt’s defense. “They're very committed to stopping the run, but they'll give up some big plays. I think the ball was only about right at the 50, right at the 50. And we needed at least 10 yards to give us a chance to get into field goal Just give us a chance at a 57-yarder or so. And so we called the draw right there and it popped. And sometimes that's what happens when you catch guys in tight coverage and man coverage, and it's late in the game, and guys are tired. And that kid can run.”

To that point, the Tigers had just eight rushing yards with running back Phil Mafah struggling through a 17-17 day (17 carries for just 17 yards). Klubnik’s run changed the stat sheet, the score, and maybe Clemson’s season.

“It was just a heck of a play by him. But literally we were trying to just make sure that we had a really good positive play right there on first down. And it popped. It popped,” Swinney said. “And I've seen that before. Unbelievable play.”

Klubnik finished the day completing 27-of-41 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. However, he also missed some wide open throws that would have led to big gains, including one on a skinny post to Antonio Williams that would have gone for a touchdown.

“He missed a few plays that he's going to be mad about in this game. And there was a couple of dudes that he missed, and we didn't finish on a couple plays that we had, but man, great quarterbacks find a way and he found a way tonight,” Swinney said. “And that's the type of moment, type of experience, that when you do stuff like that, it does stuff inside of you. All of a sudden you start to expect that, and you have to go experience those things. And that'll be a moment that he'll never forget and it'll be a moment that will grow him even more.”